Ballet Nouveau is running a show through November 9, 2008 that features the music of David Bowie, Queen, and INXS. The show, Rock Ballet, is actually a ballet in three parts. The first, “Mediate”, is choreographed to music by INXS. The second, “Love of my Life”, is choreographed to music by Queen. The third, “An Occasional Dream”, is choreographed to music by David Bowie. Artistic director Garrett Ammon said in an interview to The Daily Camera, “Movements in these ballets follow the inspiration of the music.”
So if you’re in the Denver area from now until November 9, be sure to check it out. Sounds interesting.
November 3rd, 2008 at 5:51 pm
I like ballet. I like Bowie, but like rare steak and chocolate sauce, that doesn’t mean they should be combined.
November 3rd, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Then again, it might be an unexpectedly awesome combination. Like chai with a shot of espresso. Or potato chips on a sandwich. 😉
This could turn into a weird combination posting really quickly.
November 4th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Here’s some more information about Rock Ballets – http://bncdance.com/press_room/media_coverage.html
Garrett Ammon’s use of some obscure music by the artists was really cool.
November 4th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
Though I’ve never seen it in person, the idea of flexed feet in this ballet is interesting. It’s a device used a lot by Cirque du Soleil choreographers to delineate the shape of a movement and give it a quirky feel. I’d love to see a picture of the dancer with longs arms and long fingers. She must be interesting to watch, especially with what seems to read as a unique choreography style.
November 5th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
It’s more of a modern-dance conceit…there’s more of a desire to connect with the ground in that style. Sometimes classical choreographers use it to look modern. Too bad Mr. Ammon didn’t look into the German Triptych stuff (just to make this a more Bowie-centered discussion), which is more interesting musically and less tied to lyrics, which is my big problem with rock ‘n’ roll ballet–that tendency for lyrics to get in the way of the dance experience.
P.S. There’s a disasterous trend in L.A. restaurants to combine lobster with vanilla (see above)…this needs to be discouraged with prejudice.
November 6th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
I think that he did a pretty decent job not sticking too closely to the lyrics. Especially with the Bowie piece. There is a definte creation story theme to it (G-d and the devil, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Jesus and so on) but it also felt very relevent to now for me personally. I saw myself in some of the desperation and the comfort of the dancers.
Here’s the pic of the long legs, arms, and fingers… 🙂 Her name is Meredith Strathmeyer.
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P.S. EWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!! Lobster and vanilla should be outlawed… as should chocolate and steak!!!!
November 6th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Okay… that didn’t work so well… here, we shall try again …
http://img152.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bncrock07lb7.jpg
November 6th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Ah…that’s completely classical, old-fashioned en point dancing. Dancers call that extension so your terminology confused me. It’s caused more foot trauma than Manolo Blahnik. Looks great, but it’s next door to footbinding.
November 7th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Uhm, no. There were no pointe shoes in this show at all. It is contemporary ballet. Granted, she is doing a grande jete but no pointe work in this show. Webmistress was refering to the reviewer who mentioned Meredith’s long arms, fingers, and legs that enhance her extension.
November 7th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
Oh, you’re right…her feet are bare. She’s good, and I need a bigger monitor.
November 10th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Haha! Yeah, I just got a new, bigger one, at work and it is amazing! 🙂
When I was listening in the lobby at the show, before intermission (and before Bowie) it was a funny to hear people’s responses. Some people were saying, “Oh my gosh! I just LOVE Bowie. His music reminds me of high school.” and what not but some were saying, “eww, Bowie? Isn’t he the guy from Labyrinth?” But afterwards, everyone was talking about how amazing it was and the music was so cool. Maybe we have some new Bowie fans!
November 10th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Despite my age, that’s how I think of myself…I’ve really only gotten seriously into Bowie this year, which is why I’m loving this site. One feels less alone and crazy.
I was listening to “Lodger” the other day and “Fantastic Voyage” sounds like it was written last week. The stuff he did in the late Seventies is amazing (I especially love the spoken-word experiments), and he still sings better (and more interestingly) than practically anyone else in music. It’s untainted by nostalgia, either, since so little ever found its way onto the radio…but I’m becoming tiresome.
November 12th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
The dancer is beautiful. That point on her toes amazes me. I would have killed to be able to point my toes like that back in my aerialist days. *sigh*
Late, I am also frequently amazed at how current some of Bowie’s work sounds. The Berlin Trilogy still sounds current and experimental, even by today’s standards. There are no referential technologies or themes to attach the work to any particular time period. While I love all of Bowie’s eras, they each have their own different feel. Some periods while not sounding dated have a vintage feel (the glam days), some sound very dated (late 80s), and some still feel fresh off the presses.
November 12th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
Here’s a bad combination – cumin and any type of beef. Smells like a pile of dirty undies.
November 13th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Trashes my plans for a chili cook-off.
I find the early albums (“Hunky Dory” for instance) a little too twee for my current tastes despite several killer tracks–I think he writes a better Paul Williams song (“Kooks”) than Paul Williams–but listening to the middle-period music has been a revelation. Two hundred years from now it will be our classical music and Philip Glass will be a blip.
Oh, and I just saw the “Boys Keep Swinging” video…delicious.